Pittsburgh Airport Mini Guide
What can you Tell me About Pittsburgh?
Pittsburgh used to be the centre of the US steelmaking industry and was a major industrial area before the recession of the eighties. As with many industrial centres it has reinvented itself as a centre for services and hi-tech industry. Downtown Pittsburgh is the historic centre but also home to some spectacular skyscrapers including the US Steel Tower, once the tallest building in the world and designed so it colours through rust. Opposite it is the far more sparkly One Mellon Centre clad in glass and shimmering in the sun.
What’s the Best way to get to Pittsburgh?
Pittsburgh International Airport is twenty miles out of the city but still the closest international airport to the city. Although designated as international, the only overseas flights are to
Mexico and a European flight to
Paris.
UK travellers will find it easier to fly to
Charles de Gaulle and catch the Pittsburgh flight from there.
What’s the Airport Like?
The airport is split into a landside terminal and an airside terminal joined by continuously running automatic people movers. The airside terminal is then split into four concourses. The airport as a whole is grand and modern with hundreds of shops airside and landside. It was the first airport to enrol volunteer ambassadors and the first to have free airport-wide Wi-Fi.
What Will the Airport be Like When I Arrive?
You’ll be deplaned into the airside terminal concourse before moving through security. International passengers will have a further customs and immigration check before entering the main airside terminal where you’ll find some of the ‘ambassadors’ keen to help you on your way. As duty free is a different concept in the States, you can shop in the world leading AirMall or use one of the banks or exchange counters for currency before joining the people mover to the landside terminal for luggage collection.
You’ll have to drop a level from the check in desks to the baggage reclaim whose number should be displayed on an overhead screen. In the main landside terminal there’s an airport information desk as well as a ‘Pittsburgh Area Helpdesk’, again manned by volunteers who will tell you more about the city and where to stay. Car rental is a lot simpler there with desks of the companies located in the baggage claim area and the cars parked only a few steps away, ready for collection.
How Will I be Entertained at the Airport When I Leave Pittsburgh?
Your mouth will be watering at the thought of a second chance to shop in the AirMall. In the landside terminal, there are some shops and restaurants after you’ve checked in but the majority, over a hundred, are reserved for those getting the people mover to the airside terminal and the shopping and eating opportunities in the centre of the hub. All kinds of shops can be found there, even more than your average high street and the prices are very favourable too. Restaurants vary from the grab it and go style to full dining service at some excellent bistros and restaurants.